An Arizona judge approves the return to the 19th-century near-total ban

A judge has ruled that a near-total ban on abortion dating from 1864 must be enforced in Arizona. The judge lifted an injunction and barred enforcement of a law that allows abortion to save the life of the mother. This US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and determined there was a constitutional right to abortion. 

 

US states have been deciding if or when to allow the procedure. The law predates the state’s funding and includes a two to five-year prison sentence for anyone who helps someone with an abortion. At first, it was blocked in 1973, but after the supreme court’s historic Roe v Wade ruling, and Judge Kellie Johnson of Pima County Superior Court lifted the injunction on Friday. 

 

The President of Planned Parenthood Arizona, Brittany Forteno, said that she could not overstate how cruel the decision was. No archaic law should dictate our reproductive freedom, a lady added. And Roe v. Wade was overturned in June and did not automatically make abortion illegal. But it gave individual states the power to impose their own bans. 

 

Complicating the situation, Arizona, the Republic-led state, passed legislation banning abortion 15 weeks earlier this year. It could be brought into effect that Roe v Wade was overturned. Now it is unclear whether the 15-week ban or the near-total ban will take precedence. 

 

FAQ

• After how many weeks, abortion be banned?

Ans. 15 weeks

• Who is the president of Planned Parenthood Arizona?

Ans. Brittany Fonteno 

• When was the Supreme Court’s historic Roe v. Wade ruling?

Ans. 1973